Features the hit
songs "Rock Paper Scissors" and "My One True Love."
Now Streaming FREE on this page. Click song titles below to
listen.
Product Details
Personnel
Rob Mullins - acoustic piano, composer
Track Listing-click each song to stream free
OR click
here to grab the whole album and booklet
01 Rock
Paper Scissors
02 Sonata
Pathetique Movement II
03 Sixth
Gear
04 My
One True Love
05 TRUE
06 See
Jane Run
07 Escher's
Etude
08 Nightside
(formerly "Very Blue")
09 Goodbye
Sun
Click the picture below to download the free
Lead Sheet to "Rock Paper Scissors"
also known as "Rob's New Tune."
Liner Notes by
Scott Yanow
Throughout his career, Rob Mullins
has performed a wide variety of music while being consistently
creative and distinctive. He was born in Oklahoma but grew up in
Denver where he started playing piano when he was 14. A
professional at 16, he built up a career (first in Denver and
eventually in the Los Angeles area) as a highly versatile
keyboardist, bandleader, compoers and educator.
Mullins has performed several styles of jazz, pop/jazz, smooth,
r&b, funk, classical, and music that falls in between.
Whether playing with Spike Robinson, the Crasaders, Kirk Whalum,
Branford Marsalis, Ronnie Laws or Hubert Laws, he can always be
relied upon to infuse the music with his high energy,
enthusiasm, impressive musicianship and joyful personality.
Recent records include "Storyteller, the single "A Winter Wish",
his 911 Anniversary album and a solo piano CD, "The Edge of
Dreams."
TRUE is Rob Mullins' 27th album
as a leader and a major statement in straight ahead jazz.
"I am well known for using computers to create music," says Rob,
"but I felt that my listeners, especially new ones, need to be
reminded about what live music sounds like and how good it can
sound. We recorded the whole album in one night, just three
hours. Bob E. Burnham is a fantastic live engineer. Once I had a
date and players set for the live show, I started writing the
material. I finished the writing in a few days and chose a
couple of songs from my catalog that I thought these players do
a great job on. We rehearsed the material at 3pm on the day of
the show, and made the album at 7pm. The album was recorded at
one of my favortie clubs, Dazzle Jazz Club in Denver. I chose
what I felt to be the best performances from the two shows."
For the date, Mullins teamed up with three of Denver's finest jazz musicians, each of whom is also an educator. "Joe Anderies on woodwinds is one of my mentors in Denver. He was responsible for connecting me to George Russell at a crucial time in my musical youth. Gerge had a big impact on me not returning to college and istead going on the start record my songs. Bijoux Barbosa is currently the first call bass player in Denver and he and Mike Marlier have bee the backbone of my rhythm section whenever I visit Denver. Both are great players who lend their own tough to the material." Performing a set of Rob's originals, the musicians sound quite comfortable, as if they have been playing these pieces together as a unit for many years. They introduce quite a few songs that also deserve to be performed by other musicians in the future.-Scott Yanow
FULL LINER
NOTES and ROB'S COMPOSER NOTES CLICK HERE
ALBUM REVIEW by
Brent Black @criticaljazz.net
"TRUE is a most fitting
title for a release that embraces the visionary work and
technical prowess of one of the finest if not occasionally
overlooked pianists in modern jazz.
By Brent Black /
@CriticalJazz
Rob Mullins has no "wheelhouse" to speak of. Most
pianists find that one niche and tend to settle in for as long
as their career holds out. Mullins is blessed with a virtuoso
talent that much like a good chess player allows him the freedom
to play measures and even genres ahead of his contemporaries.
Sophisticated jazz harmonies, colorful changes and an effortless
flow with perhaps the best right hand in the game, Rob Mullins
brings his prolific talent to the live recording of TRUE
at the Dazzle Jazz Club in his hometown of Denver,
Colorado. A snapshot of a moment in time embracing a
contemporary approach to the straight ahead swing that is the
Mullins calling card.
Opening with "Rock Paper Scissors" this
vibrant Mullins composition seeks out a musical happy place with
the lyrical intensity of an Oscar Peterson tune combined with a
smoldering Horace Silver approach to set the table for an
intriguing if not intoxicating sonic smorgasbord of delight. In
scanning the disc before review the obvious "what tune doesn't
belong in this set list" question had to be, can Mullins
actually make Sonata Pathetique Movement II composed by
Beethoven and arranged by Rob Mullins work? In a word, yes! Colors
you can hear as Mullins paints from a rich color palette
with broad and incredibly well defined strokes.
One would be remiss if not
mentioning the other members of this phenomenal quartet. Joe
Anderies on saxes and alto flute along with Bijoux
Barbosa on upright bass and Mike Marlier on drums
round out this unique jazz collective where Mullins is the
obvious leader but the group dynamic is never lost in the
shuffle. TRUE is the title track and a soulful and soul filled
romp reminiscent of classic Ramsey Lewis while remaining
straight up Rob Mullins every step of the way. This vibrant
pulse is personified with the engaging call and response type
give and take between Mullins and and tenor man Anderies. When
this 4tet stretches out the lyrical intensity never dies or
falls flat as harmonics shift and dynamics are adjusted this
ensemble seems to feed off itself while pushing each other and
Mullins to heights higher than one previously imagined.
There
is a conceptual nature or perhaps a conceptual wish of hoping
the listener finds what is "TRUE" for themselves. Rob Mullins is
clearly an artist comfortable with his lot in life, where he has
been and more importantly where he is going. Instead of taking
the easy path of nine covers that would encompass the usual
suspects, Mullins treats the audience to nine original
compositions with many sounding like standards simply biding
their time in the on deck circle. TRUE is a
masterclass for young pianists and a most engaging and
entertaining release on just about any level one could imagine.
No critic can cover all releases in a given year, this was one
that sadly slipped past me. Better late than never!
Rob
Mullins is my musical easy button: FIVE STARS!" Brent
Black@criticaljazz.com
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Discography